Community gathers at vigil to support family of boy found dead in tank at Jacksonville park

People lit candles and came together in prayer in memory of 3-year-old Amari Harley on Wednesday night.

Amari’s mother, Jasmine Bates, stood near his memorial at Bruce Park, where his body was found in an underground water tank on Sunday, clutching a large picture of her son.

"We are just praying for strength right now to get through this," Bates said.

Dozens of candles were lit around the memorial as people prayed for the boy's family.

"We all love him very much and we wish that he was here, but his life is gone now," Amari’s cousin Camiyah Townsend said.

The turnout at the vigil was unexpected, but it’s something that family members said Amari’s mother appreciates.

"She needed that support," cousin Kamilla Jenkins said.

Friends and family held hands and thanked God for the years they had with Amari.

They also had balloons in honor of him.

Since Amari’s death, the city replaced the water tank lids with concrete covers.

"This is a situation of too little, too late," the family’s attorney, Kay Harper Williams, said.

Williams said she is fighting for answers about the lids and said parents should be able to feel safe bringing their kids to parks.

"Unfortunately, that safety and security weren't here, and that's why he lost his life,” Williams said.

The family’s attorney was going around talking to people who were at Bruce Park on Sunday when Amari’s body was found.

She said she is trying to get answers from the city about why it took so long to replace the water tank lids with concrete covers.

Cox Media Group